


The Feeling of Audible Cracks (Rafael Barba)

by CarisiIsMyHomeBoy



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-30 17:58:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10168613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarisiIsMyHomeBoy/pseuds/CarisiIsMyHomeBoy
Summary: The one where Rafael's wife gets kidnapped.





	

Rafael Barba finally had it all.

He was an ADA after years of hard work. His mami was happy and cared for. The people making the threats against him had finally stopped. He was a husband, and would soon be a father.

After years of wishing and waiting, Rafael met the woman with whom he would spend the rest of his life. He proposed soon after they started dating, not wanting to waste anymore of his life alone. She had agreed instantly and they were married within the next week, not bothering with a wedding since he was older and her family lived in the South. Shortly after the couple celebrated their first anniversary, they decided to try to conceive. It didn’t take long, two months later his wife ran into their bedroom one morning, pregnancy test in hand (wrapped in toilet tissue, of course) with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. He shared in her enthusiasm, instantly engulfing her in his strong arms. He couldn’t help but let a few tears fall from his excitement, thinking to himself that he would finally have what he once thought he never could; a family of his own.

He practically skipped on the walk back to his office from having lunch with his wife one day. She had also had a doctor’s appointment that morning, to which Rafael accompanied her to. Rafael had made it a point to attend every appointment she had, but this one was an extra important visit, her 20-week appointment.

With no new cases for the day, Rafael looked at the clock and decided he could leave a few minutes early for once. A ‘ding’ on his phone broke his train of thought. Looking down at his phone, he saw he had a new email from an address he didn’t recognize. Opening the email, the only message in the email was a web link. Interest piqued, he clicked the link and it sent him to a website that was blank except for a box for a video that was loading. Waiting for the video to load, he wondered who the hell could have sent him a video from a blank website.

The ominous video loaded at last and he fixed his eyes on his phone’s small screen, he felt his heart drop and his breath catch in his chest when the camera focused and he saw her. His wife, tied to a chair, wearing only her jeans and a bra just to humiliate her. Each of her ankles were tied to a chair leg, her arms were bound behind the backrest of the chair. Rafael noticed that she had a black eye and she was sweating; her hair was sticking to her face. He prayed that whoever had her didn’t know about the baby, however, while her belly wasn’t noticeable under a shirt or dress yet, there was no denying her pregnancy in her current state of undress.

He couldn’t think, could barely sit up straight as various scenarios for how this could pan out flooded his brain. So consumed in his own thoughts, Rafael almost didn’t hear the voice coming from his phone.

“Hey, Rafi. Thanks for joining the party. Yes, this a live feed of your woman having a grand ol’ time. Didn’t want to miss it, did you?”

His head was spinning and he began to feel nauseous. Throwing on his coat and not bothering to grab his briefcase, he stormed out of his office and walked to Carmen’s desk.

“You can leave. If Olivia calls before you go, tell her I’m on my way.” He barked at his secretary and ran to the door, not bothering to give her time to respond.

-

Rafael spent the short walk to the precinct with his eyes glued to his phone screen, allowing his legs to take him where he needed to go from muscle memory.

Finally arriving at the precinct, he found Olivia waiting by the door, tablet in hand.

“I called a few minutes ago. I’m assuming you got the same video as I did?” Olivia asked as the pair walked to the SVU squad room. Rafael only nodded numbly, feeling the bile rising in his throat as he saw the video on the squad room TV.

“Okay, well, we have TARU tracing the video. Rollins is working on it, too. When was the last time you saw her?”

“Today, she had a doctor’s appointment and then we went to lunch on Madison. We parted ways after that.”

Quickly giving the address of the café to Finn, Rafael settled in a chair, suddenly exhausted. How could this have happened? He knew he should have walked her home, especially with these threats going around. He made a mental note to not let her walk the city alone until this whole mess was cleared up.

If he’d ever see her again.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, he turned his attention back to the video. Whoever had taken her was smart, barely going on camera themselves and when they did, they made sure only their torsos and legs showed on the video.

“Now, Rafael, we thought about going after you. That would have been easy. We could have gotten you on the courthouse steps, on your way home; we had ample opportunities to hit you. But then, we remembered your ol’ lady.” He used the tip of his knife to graze her right cheek, light enough to not pierce the skin, “And that’s when we got this brilliant idea. Why go after you, when we can go after the one thing you care about? Oh, I’m sorry, scratch that. Make that two things. That’s right, Raf, we know about the little one.”

Oh, fuck.

Rollins’ head snapped up from her computer then. Liv and Carisi instantly stopped their conversation, Liv’s eyes were wide and fixed on Rafael. He couldn’t bear to look at them; all he was able to do was stare at her on the screen in front of him.

“You know, Rafi, we thought it better to take her and the little bundle of joy growing in her. They way, you’d have to live your life, knowing that your wife and child are dead, and that you couldn’t save them. To us, that’s way better than killing you. We’d rather just watch you kill yourself, slowly.”

The man brought the blade down to her stomach and lightly grazed her skin, making a long cut from under her bra to her hip. She screamed in pain as fresh tears streamed down her face and blood ran down onto the waistband of her jeans.

With that, Rafael made a beeline for the restroom, no longer able to hold down his lunch. Barely reaching a toilet in time, Rafael heaved until his stomach was empty. When he was finished, he walked to the sink to wash out his mouth. He finally allowed himself to cry, fearing for the lives of his beloved and his child. Fearing that he would never kiss her again, that he would never be able to meet his child. He heard the bathroom door open and looked up to see Carisi, of course, checking up on him. Rafael sighed to himself, knowing the real reason why Carisi was there.

“She’s twenty weeks along. We went to the doctor today, we’re having a baby girl.” Carisi gave him a small smile and nod.

“Valencia Paige Barba. That’s her name, named after the city in Spain. Have you ever been? It’s very beautiful. We went to Spain for our honeymoon, as you know, and Valencia was her favorite city. We were planning on telling everyone after we found out the sex. We actually found out today. We were going to have you all over for dinner one day this weekend.”

“Hey, I can’t wait to meet her. Her nickname can be Valen or Sia and I can be Uncle Sonny to her, too.”

Rafael scoffed, “Oh, joy. Can’t wait for that.”

Suddenly, the bathroom door flew open. Olivia was at the door.

“TARU’s got something.”

_

Nineteen hours. That was how long his wife slept when she got to the hospital. That was how long Rafael had been at the hospital since she arrived, refusing to leave her side longer than a few minutes to shower or go to the bathroom. He didn’t mind; he loved just watching her sleep; he loved having her back in his arms. The men that had taken her were in custody and they had named their leader, the man making the threats against Rafael’s life. He could finally rest easy knowing that the three of them were safe. He felt her stir and her eyes opened slightly. Rafael quickly stood and ran a hand through her hair.

“Rafi, how is she?” Her voice sounded so small and weak, it almost broke Rafael’s heart.

“She’s fine, Cariño. Both of you are perfectly fine.” Rafael felt his voice crack in his throat, but this time is was because he still had all he had ever wanted, his family.


End file.
